Victoria patrol officer arrested on suspicion of DWI; records not released

By
Bianca Montes
July 20, 2013 at 2:20 a.m.Updated July 21, 2013 at 2:21 a.m.

A Victoria patrol officer is being investigated for driving while intoxicated, but police are releasing little information about the case.

The Victoria Advocate learned about the arrest from a tip.

When asked repeatedly about the case, police confirmed that an officer, Ryan Salles, 26, of Victoria, was booked.

The June 3 media log, available at the Victoria County Sheriff's Office, shows that Salles was arrested at 2:51 a.m. June 3 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

He was released on bond later that day. The time was not included on the media log.

Police would not release his length of time on the force or any other information about the case.

The Advocate filed an open records request July 10 for the employee's discipline file, arrest report and incident report for the July 3 arrest.

The request was denied because the arrest is considered a pending criminal case, a city attorney wrote in a letter received Friday.

The non-released records contain witness statements, video recordings and reports describing the potential charges, according to the letter sent by Linda Champion, assistant city attorney.

The Advocate filed an amended open records request Friday, seeking specific information routinely released after such an arrest.

Requests for interviews on the issue were denied earlier by Police Chief J.J. Craig as well as Public Information Officer Lt. Mike Hernandez, with instructions to file an open records request.

The Advocate also has filed an open records request for all jail logs from the week of July 3.

The jail log was released Saturday.

The Advocate also has requested information from the police department on its policies for dealing with an officer who is arrested. That request was denied, too.

The Advocate was told to file an open records request for the information.

The Advocate filed another open records request for the documents. Pages 12 through 15 of the Victoria Police Department's conduct and performance policy, outlining how officers report an arrest to supervisors and the state, were made available.

The city's policy of whether an officer shall remain on duty while being investigated was not included.

The Advocate filed an amended open records request asking for more specific details of the policy.